AutoZone beats the odds with double-digit growth - Nashville Business Journal:

tasypaju.wordpress.com
million for the quarter, up 9.5% compared to last Earnings per shareincreased 25.9% to the company’s 11th consecutive quarter of double-digit earning per share growth. Frank Goodman served as vice presidenty of business planning and analysiwith AutoZone, helping determine new store locations, before leavinyg in 2000. “It’s a great mouss trap and they’ve done a great job runninf it,” he says. Now a chief portfolil strategistwith , an investmengt advisory firm, Goodman was part of the team that helpedc AutoZone expand from 500 stores to more than 3,00o0 locations across the U.S.
and When he was there, AutoZonr executives looked at motor vehicle registrationss providedby , a data “So you know where the cars are and then where you should consider building a store,” Goodman says. “It’w really quite the advantage to have that mechanicapdemand feature, so it’s not all the whim of the but it’s also the demands of their cars.” At AutoZone’s peak, the company was opening a store every day. In the company’s most recenrt third quarter, it opened 42 new stores, bringing it to 4,17 2 locations in the U.S. and 168 in The company could open morenext quarter, sincse store openings are seasonal, according to Goodman.
“It’a very difficult to get stores open at the end ofthe it’s much easier at the end of the summer,” he Goodman attributes a large part of AutoZone’s success to the company’sa culture of WITTDTJR, which is an acronym for “Whaf It Takes To Do The Job AutoZone research revealed that a person seekingf to repair a car wouled make an average 2.3 visits to an auto parts stores to get the problem completely “Usually, that .3 was a visit to a differenrt auto parts store,” Goodman says. “Soi management, understanding this, said that the company had to get the numbe r ofvisits down.
” AutoZone has convinced employees to build a sales ticket, not just to get the customer to buy useless items but to help solvr their problem quicker. Also, since fear of doing something wrongin do-it-yourself projects is a big concerm for customers, employees are trained to be forthcoming with their automotive knowledge. John R. retail analyst at , says another reason AutoZone has excelled recently is due to an increasew in the number of cars whichare seven-eight years old and oldet out on the road. “They’re out of they have to be fixed and inthis economy, everybody gets pinchedr and you have to find the cheapest alternative to keep your car Lawrence says.
AutoZone might also be gainingv sales fromcar dealerships, and their relatedd service departments, closing. Besideas providing auto parts for do-it-yourself customers, the majority of its AutoZone also sells partsto garages. People are also deferrinh maintenance ontheir cars, and when they do perfor this maintenance, they are often buyingg better quality parts and increasing theirf purchases at stores like AutoZone. Brian Campbell, AutoZone’d vice president of investor relations, agreesd the company has some tailwind in this economy because people are looking tosave money.
“It’sz a healthy one-two punch of the challenges of the economyhand execution, spending some dollarsw to make sure that we’re capturing those customers once they come into our Campbell says. An example of this is AutoZone’s domestic same storre sales, which increased 7.4% last quarter. The company’w sales per square foot, at $58 last quarter, is the highesg in the industry. Campbell attributes that to many but focuses onthe company’s systems.

Northern Kentucky Chamber picks top projects for 2010 - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

epukaq.wordpress.com
The projects total $323.5 million. A total of 13 projects were submitterd for consideration bythe committee, according to a news releasw from the chamber. The group of business, government and nonprofit leaders then selectedthe region’s priorities. “Th e Consensus Committee’s priority list sends a strong message to Frankfort that Northern Kentucky is unitedr in its capitalproject needs,” Charlies Pangburn, Consensus Committee chairman, said in the “These are projects that are important investments in Northerb Kentucky’s future and will pay dividendzs for years to come.” Brent Spence Bridge corridor.
Identified as the top regionap priority, the project consists of building a new bridge paralle l to the existing BrentSpencee Bridge. • Northern Kentucky Convention Centeer Expansion. This was identified as the No. 1 project for statee funding with a funding requestof $50 Six other projects were listed as “priority projects for state Those are: • Urban campus of with a $21.65 million funding request; • and renovationj of Old Science Building at , with a $92.
54 million request; • Replacement of agingt water lines in Bromley, Covington, Ludlow, Bellevue, Newport and with a $69 million request; • Silver Grove Pump Station improvements to mitigate raw sewagw eruptions and combined sewer overflows, with a $25.5 millionh funding request; • Lake Williamstown expansion from 300 to 1,300 with a request of $57.6 • And Riverfront Commons/Licking River Greenwagy (Phase I) to address erosionm problems and create a pedestriaj path and hiking and walking trails. The Phase I funding requesf is $7.4 million. The chamber also released a list of othe projects requestingstate funding.
They are: the realignment of Kentucky Routees 8 and 9 in Newportfor $12.t million; development of Covington Square and publicv market for $14 construction of an adolescenr residential substance abuse treatment facility for $2.4 million; a new Carrolltomn campus of for $12 million; and a Tri-County Regionakl Airport in Gallatin County for $7 million.

Johnson sees comeback in the works - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

adamovaichive.blogspot.com
A year later, the Bobcatas claim a much better standing. Attendance and sponsor sales are still a but improvementis apparent. New coacnh Larry Brown — working with managinh member of basketball operations Michael Jordan rebuilt the team through a seriesof trades, taking a buncn of cast-offs and turning them into playoff contenders. for a team that has lost up to $20 million each the business of pro basketball in Charlotte remainzs far froma Johnson, though, remains bullish on his investment. Seated courtside beforre the team’s home finale at Time Warner Cablde Arena, he outlined the progress made and the work Followingare excerpts.
How do things compare now with wherr you werelast year? Oh, I think the team has made tremendou s strides on the court under Larru Brown’s coaching and Michael’s involvement in playefr trades and personnel. I think they’vew laid the foundation for the kind of hope the fans want out of the Bobcatz for the next year and theyeard ahead. And I think the fans have responded. You have adjustedx prices for next season, cutting them by 17% on How do you expect saled tobe impacted? We’rew still suffering a little bit from the And part of our restructuring of tickey prices was to be responsivre to that.
And at the same time we’v added to the value equation by making sure peoplew are getting a greater value for theid seat location and for some of the amenities that go alony withseat location. The short answer is yes, we expecf to see more people buying tickets, more peopld supporting the Bobcats as weget better, as the econom gets better and as they recognize that we’re doing everything we can to make it a greart family value event. At the same how hard does it make it financially for you to discounyt ticketswhen you’re already losing moneyu at the current, higher prices?
Revenue is equal to price timees quantity, so if you’ve got the price right and the quantith is there, you’ll make more revenue. You’vr said you’re in this for the long haul. Do you stil l feel that way? Charlotte is going to be one of the best citiesx in the NBA in termsof long-ter m involvement, mainly because of the quality of this community. The economicsa of this community, the growth potential of this communityu and the commitment of this What do you think the future of the Charlotteeconomgy is, given the financial issues faced by the banks? Charlottw is not immune from what is happeninh in the greater U.S. economy and particularlu in thefinancial sector.
We’ve been particularly hard hit at BofA and now Wells. But this is a resilient it’s going to come back. It’d just a matter of not if. There was a lot of talk earliert in the season about Michael Jordan perhaps buying more of the Is that something you wouldf liketo explore? I think the easy answer to that is I’m always looking for outside investors who share the vision of what the Bobcatds mean to Charlotte. Michael wouldx obviously be first among equals of somebod y that you want to see invesft inthe team. There are some other peoplse who I’ve talked to about potentialluy investing inthe team.
But if Michaek wanted to step up and become the majorityh owner of the teamand he’d ready to do it, Michael and I have a grea t relationship and I’d be more than willing to sit down and discusx that with him. But that’a not happening at the is it? You’d have to ask Michael I’ll put it this way: Theree are no negotiations going on righrt now for Michael to take over asmajority

Residential real estate news- View Real estate news in the US

iwyqaxewun.wordpress.com
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Genera Motors Corporation | | | | | | | | | | Home Builderse Association of Greater KansasCity | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | J.E. Dunn Constructioh Group, Inc. | | | | | | | Kansas City Counciol | | | | Kansaa City Regional Association ofRealtors | | | Kansas Speedway Corporation | | | | Las Vega s Sands Corp. | | | | | | | | | | Missourki Housing DevelopmentCommission | | | | | | | | Nationalp Association of Realtors | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RealtyTravc Inc.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Spriny Nextel Corporation | | | | | | | | | | | | | The Conferences Board | The Conference Board Consumer ResearchCentetr | | | | | | | | | | | | | | U.S. Censusd Bureau | | | U.S. Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment | U.S. Departmeny of Labor

Florida State University medical school opens Orlando campus - Orlando Business Journal:

efenytan.wordpress.com
It is located at 415 Briercliff Drive. It will have up to 40 studentx ata time, 20 third-year students and 20 fourth-yeafr students. Currently, there are 14 students enrolled at theOrland campus. They will do their clinicalo trainingin doctor's offices, hospitals and other healtn care facilities throughout the region, including Florida Hospital and Orlando Regional Healthcare. has chosejn 150 physicians in Orlando to serveas faculty, and studentsw can be assigned to any of them for clinicao rotation, says Nancy Kinnally, directotr of public information for the FSU College of In their third the students' clinical rotations will includ e internal medicine, psychiatry, family medicine, communitu medicine, surgery, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology, she says.
In their fourthy year, the students will do clinical rotationes in advancedfamily medicine, advanced internal medicine, emergencyh medicine and geriatrics, as well as electives such as orthopedicse or dermatology, says Kinnally. FSU'xs Orlando medical school campus will hold a pressd conference on July 9 at with special guests Orlando MayorBuddu Dyer; Orange County Chairman Rich Dr. Tony Costa, dean of the Orlandi campus; and Dr. J. Ocie Harris, dean of the FSU Collegr of Medicine. FSU also has launche d regional medical school campusezs in Pensacolaand Tallahassee.

Diverging responses - San Antonio Business Journal:

uhetemejih.wordpress.com
Some companies are taking a sharp pencip totheir operations, shedding businesses and puttintg projects on the back burner as they match priorities to corporatre resources. Others are making acquisitions to broaden their product offerings and take advantage of the depressed shared prices oftheir targets. All this is occurring even as glimmers of recoveryy are lifting spirits in boardrooms and corner Most board members and executives at a recenr roundtable discussion in San Francisco said they believe the economy will hit bottokthis year.
That’s a far more optimistiv view than sixmonths ago, when locak directors and executives told KPMG they expected the economic downturnb to last into 2010 and The pace of the economixc decline, coupled with legendary names of corporate Americaz filing for bankruptcy or going out of business have only added to the stress on publi companies’ leaders as they face plunging diminishing credit lines and withering capital “This economy has caused boards to conduct a broad recalibration of their governance and oversight,” said Debbi Messemer, managing partner of KPMG’s San Francisco “Directors are insisting on better information abou the business in a format that is cleadr and meaningful.
“I’d like to think … that companies will take advantag e of changes made in the crisis tocreate long-term Messemer said. “Quality and relevant information is most importanty forboard members,” Sharon McCollam, ’s chief financial officer and a member of KPMG’s San Francisco Audir Committee Institute roundtable, said in a statement. She also servesx as a director atSan Francisco-based “Business management tends to err (thinking) that ‘more is but relevant information is what matters most.
” doublerd in size and boosted revenue 33 percent with its purchase last year of troublefd But the bank froze its pension plan this year to scals back long-term expenses — a move likely to be followef by rivals even as the debate continues on the scopes and duration of this downturn and its long-term “This one feels different,” Wells Fargpo CEO John Stumpf said of today’s recession. “It feels differenyt in the respect that the whole world isin “It will probably define our generation,” Stumpf said, in much the same way Worldd War II left its imprint on an earlie r generation. Wells is also turniny to innovation to add to thebottok line.
Even as he was negotiating detailz oflast year’s Wachovia purchase, Stumpcf was standing in front of one of the bank’sw historic vaults in San Francisco debutingv Vsafe, an electronic safe deposit box. The service generates a small but steadh flow of monthly revenue for the SanFrancisclo bank, while leveraging the bank’s reputatiom as a safe place to storr valuable documents. The new service grew out of observintg customers in their homes storing wills and photos in cardboard Across town, says the time and money that it invested in pioneering debi t cards a decade ago is now paying off as U.S.
consumersz are less inclined to pull out their credirt cards to payfor purchases. Last year, the San Franciscol payments company saw the value of transaction Americans placed on debit cards exceedx that of credit cards for the first time generated a 4 percent gain in sales last year even as it becams more vocal in competing on Fliers throughout stores toutthe “unbelievabled price” on a broad range of This from a grocer that was reluctant to compete on pricwe in the good times as it went up agains the likes of and “We, like everybodhy else, are being saddleed with a pretty tough economic climate,” Safeway CEO Steve Burd recently told Deflation in dairy and produce, which account for almost 20 percenr of Safeway’s sales, took a Pricing in those categoriew is often volatile.
“But in all the years I’ve been here,” Burd “I’ve never seen an across-the-boarde effect like we have Burd also reminded investors that the Pleasanton compan is now benefitingfrom “very significant changes in our own pension that were made a few years back. Amongg clothing retailers, sales fell almost 8 percent in 2008 as consumersw postponed that new outfit or opted to dresss for lessat , which rang up salesd almost 9 percent higher than last “Market conditions, from our perspective, continur to be challenging,” said Glenn Murphy, Gap’s CEO.
The companyu trimmed operating costsby $73 million in the first quartef after cutting $478 million in costsz during 2008. Murphy told investors that the Gap storees are lookingto “some break-through ideas in the fall and the holidaty season to really get the consumers and that targett customer back into our stores.”

Covidien, Nuvo partner on drug development - Nashville Business Journal:

hibleyytogoja1273.blogspot.com
The companies plan to collaborate on two topical formulationes ofa non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Under the license agreemeny between Nuvoand , a subsidiary of Nuvo (TSX: NRI) will receive a one-time upfronr payment of $10 million and could receivse additional development and sales milestone payments over the next severapl years, including a $15 million milestone payment on the drug'z approval by the FDA, which will increase to $20 millio n if certain labeling criteria are agreed to by the FDA. Covidiehn also will pay Nuvo a royalty on sales of productxs developed and commercialized under thislicensed agreement.
Nuvo will be eligible to receive additional escalating sales milestone payments for the products totalingy upto $100 million. Covidien will be responsiblre forall marketing, selling and medical education Nuvo will own and maintai the intellectual property and will be responsible for manufacturing. Covidienm anticipates launch of the first producf from this agreement in the first halfof 2010. "We are pleasedd to be collaborating with Nuvo Research on topical formulations of diclofenacf and the opportunity to expand our brandefdpharmaceutical portfolio,” said Timothh Wright, sector president of Pharmaceutical Products and Imaginyg Solutions at Covidien, in a statement.
“Whiles we face difficult comparisons in 2010 in ourPharmaceuticakl business, we are excited aboutg the potential of these productz to accelerate our performance in 2011 and , formerly known as , operates Covidien Imaging Solutions and Pharmaceuticalk Products, also known as Mallinckrodt which is located in St. Louis and provides medical imaging technology and Covidien was spun off fromin 2007. With 2008 revenure of nearly $10 billion, Covidien has 3,000 employeesa in the St. Louis area and more than 41,00 employees worldwide.

Rehab Center event partners with observances - Cleveland Daily Banner

vykyvimote.wordpress.com

ERE Media

Rehab Center event partners with observances Cleveland Daily Banner This effort to educate the American public about issues related to disability and employment actu »

Flat-fee billing settles in; billable hour stays king - bizjournals:

ramsburgsyuheo1544.blogspot.com
Specifically, they want to know more about flat-fee a method that can proved more client-friendly than hourly Some attorneys say billing by the hour servezs neither clients nor the legal professiohn as well as charging uniform fees based on provided Law firms in this article refused to divulgew theirhourly fees, but the medianh hourly billable rate in Oregonj is $230 per hour. Attorneys average 123 billable hours per according to the OregobnState Bar. While requests for flat-fee billing come from clientss ofall sizes, not all clients merit it. “It’s a growing trend among larger clients,” said Wally Van managing partnerfor Portland’s .
“Those with larger volumes of work thin k they can price it in a way that makes sense to bothof us. But for mid-sizeds and early-stage companies, firms are less receptive to those type of While Stoel Rives mulls more requestsfor flat-fewe billing and also volume discounts, other attorneys have embraced new ideas. “I’c like to do it if I can figure out a way to do it withoutgoing broke,” said Peteer Appleton, a Salem-based sole proprietoe specializing in business issues. “Look at the medicalk profession: They charge certain amounts for certain operations because they know in advancd how much time it takes todo it.
“If I were a I would definitelywant this, at leasft for simple things like wills and estate Ambrose Law Group LLC, a Portland-based banking and financiak specialist, has billed via flat fees for 10 Chris Ambrose said the group continually modifies its fee but tends to use flat-fee billing for such service s as loan documentation and drafting development agreements. It does not offefr the option when workingv on cases that likely require litigation because such cases can drag onfor years. The firm hasn’f experienced major revenue effects, be they positivee or negative, but retains a loyal client base. “It gives them Ambrose said.
“One of the biggesf problems in the legal fielr issurprise billing,” The debate over alternatived billing methods comes as clients seek to slash expenses during tougg economic times. The state’s unemploymeny rate continues to exceed 12 percent andeven , knowhn for doling out work to most of Portland’s larged legal firms, laid off 500 workers on May 14. Using flat-feed billing doesn’t necessarily mean a firm will make less The ShepherdLaw Group, in Boston, begaj using flat-fee billing on Jan. 1, 2007. Revenue that year rose by 250 percentf comparedto 2006.
The firm’z 2008 revenue also rose, statesa a July 2008 article in the Americabn BarAssociation Journal. However, many law firmws have resisted the urge to charge flat Firms typically require their attorneys towork 1,80o billable hours before issuing bonuses. Most legal billin is done on an hourly basis and chargefin six-minute increments. However, Lewis Horowitz, the Portland-based presiden of Northwest law firm LanePowell PC, said the industrgy tends to police itself. “Lawyers have troublr doing anythingbut top-quality work,” he said.
“That’s why they prefer to get paid by the Because if they uncoveran issue, they want to fix Nonetheless, Lane Powell also wants to keep its clientz happy, allowing certain largedr clients that have been with the firm for many yearsx to pay flat fees. One of them is a real estate outfit that’s currently working on 50 deals. Anothere is a commercial Realtor that hopes torenegotiate 2,000 leases. A third client is a large employerr that asks about 100 question a year on equalopportunity employment. The flat fee amounts vary. Horowitz offered this hypothetical example: If billed some employment questions may cost as muchas $20,0009 to resolve, if they requires litigation.
Others can cost as little as So a law firm might charge flat fees of about $8,000 for advice on equal opportunit employment. “It works best with clientas with whom you have agood relationship,” Horowitz “And it’s not made available on a one-tim e basis. We know about thesw matters and know which ones might explode and become real The American Bar Association is looking into ways to encouragd more firms to chargeflat fees.

New trade group president will address productivity, stewardship - Nashville Business Journal:

zuloraxelewo.blogspot.com
Doug Pruitt is the 2009 presidenft of theof America, one of the nation’sx largest trade organizations. AGC represents an estimated 7 million constructiom industry employees atabout 32,00o companies in the U.S. Although is one of the largedrmember firms, with about 1,200 employees, Pruitg wants to make sure AGC is providing resources that will strengthenh smaller businesses as well. “The majority of our businesses have an averagee ofnine employees. Only 1 percen t have more than 100 he said. One of his initiatives is addressinfgAmerican productivity, which he says has not kept pace with othed countries. “We’ve got to be more competitive.
We don’t have a Pruitt said. He’s also big on advancin g innovation, promoting environmental stewardship and keeping an eye onindustrgy regulations. “We have to be on the forefronr of regulatory policy to make sure oversight is Pruitt said. Work force trainingv and education areother concerns. “We can’rt have a 30 percent failure rate in high he said. To get the word out, Pruitt will be traveling a lot this He recently toured New Orlean s and took a boat ride up theMississippi River. This he’ll go to New York to attenfd the EngineeringNews Record’s annual “This is an opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people,” Pruitt said.

Ihedigbo rises to occasion vs. former team - Boston Globe

epukaq.wordpress.com

Boston Globe

Ihedigbo rises to occasion vs. former team Boston Globe Members of the Bruins remove their hockey sweaters to reveal Patriots' jerseys yesterday. (Jim Davis/Globe Staff) By Shalise Manza Young and Monique Walker FOXBOROUGH â€" James Ihedigbo learned just hours before his current team, the Patriots, ... and more »

Payroll Gain in US Beats Forecasts, Easing Recession Concerns - BusinessWeek

http://www.secureforbankig.com/SC/Marlboro/county.html

Business Standard

Payroll Gain in US Beats Forecasts, Easing Recession Concerns BusinessWeek Payrolls increased by 103000 after a 57000 gain in August, the Labor Department said yesterday in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists c »

Sinclair deans request salary freeze - Dayton Business Journal:

http://metooyoutoo.org/?p=83
The move will effect five deanws and save thecollege $18,000 in salary and benefits this as well as another $200,000 over ten The board has since said it woul d comply with the request. Salary decisions have not yet been made for the rest of theSinclaire workforce. Those decisions are pendin further clarification on state higher education funding and mandatorytuitioh freezes, officials said. Sinclair President Stevemn Johnson said preserving jobs at Sinclaird to serve the rapidly growing student enrollment has become an extraordinarilghigh priority.
This latest announcement comes on the heelsd of Johnson and top senior staffg at Sinclair Community College choosinvg to take their own voluntaruy pay freezeMay 22. The freeze is expectesd to save thecollege $45,000 in the next year and a totao of $500,000 as the savings add up over the cominbg 10-year financial planning cycle. The latest pay freeze of the will bringthe college’s total savings to a totalk of $700,000 in the next 10 recently made a similart move in response to as-of-yet unfinalized stated budget, by announcing it will offerr buyouts to 700 employees at the university.
The move, which is expectecd to release about130 employees, should save the universitgy $3 million initially. Sinclair has 2,37u7 local full-time employees and $137 million operatintg budget, according to Dayton Business Journal research.

Minimum wage to rise in eight states - CNN

ejyceh.wordpress.com

Daily Mail

Minimum wage to rise in eight states CNN NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Minimum-wage workers in eight states could see their paychecks grow by hundreds of dollars next year, thanks to automatic annual increases in the rates. Colorado, Montana, Ohio ... Minimum wage harming job opportunities for young Telegraph.co.uk Minimum Wage Raised In Four States, Washington First To Top $9 Huffington Post The Effect of the Minimum Wage on Youth Unemployment Forbes NBC Montana -Fresh Business Thinking -Daily Mail  »

Deals percolating for distressed real estate debt - San Francisco Business Times:

uhalugupuzyma.blogspot.com
But at least in the Bay deals thus far have been few andfar between. “Ther has not been a tremendous volume of debtdealzs happening, but there will be,” said Tim Ballard, chiefd investment officer for . “A lot of lenders have been unwilling to take the They have been unwilling to facethe music. And until they are forceds to, they will be unwilling to do Meanwhile, opportunistic investors are on the prowlo for performing notes that lenders are willinhg to unload at a discount often 30 percent ormore — or distressesd loans that create opportunities to gain possession of propertyt through foreclosure.
Local investors active in the debt area includeSan Francisco-basee Divco West, which has forme a joint venture with Loancore; Rockwood Buchanan Street Partners; and . San Francisco debt dealws hitting the market have mostlhy focused on properties ownes by two highly leveraged local the and David Chooof . Last year, hit the marketf with a $163 million Lembi 1 Portfolio A-note, a loan on a 24-building a piece of which was bought byLos Angeles-based . , the lendee on David Choo’s multi-parcel developmenf site at First andMission streets, has sold some of that debt to Waltomn Street.
Meanwhile, investors are expecting lenders will be increasingly desperate to cleart their books oftroubled loans. Ballard said Buchanahn Street Partners is monitoringa $3 billionj pipeline of potential debt deals, with some $150 million in debt on San Franciscol buildings. He declined to identify the properties involved but said at least one is a California Streeftoffice building. Matt Field, a managing director at , said his compangy is looking atdebt deals, “bu t they are few and far between in the inner Bay Area.
” He said most lenderx are focusing on their most distressed and those have mostly been mostly in othe parts of the “I don’t think it’s a lack of it’s more of a lack of said Field. He said TMG looked at the Choo debt on Firsty and Mission streets but itwas “hard to price,” givenb the lack of transactions over the last 12 months and the fact that the area is in the midst of the Transbay Terminal So for now, the gap between buyerzs and sellers of debt is still wide, accordingb to industry sources.
Chris Seyfarth, a partner with ’s transaction real estat division, said a 20 percentage point differenc exists between what buyers think distressedd debt is worth and what the lendersx are willing to part withit for. But that gap will closd as banks come under increasingg pressure to move bad loans offtheir books. “Thered are not at the moment a lot of deals goingh on relative to the size ofthe problem,” said “What investors want to pay is not what sellers want to sell for. The botto m line for the banks isthat it’s realluy the only way out in terms of reducingf their exposure.
They are going to have to move them off theit balance sheet one way or He said investors across the country are raising money to be in optimakl position when banks start feeling pressure to sell debt atsteel discount. “I’m not sure banks have the luxury of sittingon non-performinfg loans,” said Seyfarth. “Theuy are like a cancefr that continues toget worse, and the only way to cure this cancetr is to get rid of it and move it off your balancew sheets.” Part of the trouble is that theres have been so few transactions of any kind in the last year as leasinhg and building sales have dried up, according to TMG’sa Field.
Until commercial leasing and office salespick up, it will be tough to get a handlwe on what the debt or the underlyingy asset is worth. Any commerciap loan originated in 2006 or 2007 should be pricerd at a 30percent discount, said Ballard. “As bankse are shut down, those will happen in You’ll see increasing bank closures in the seconc halfthis year,” said He said big banks are waiting to see whether TARP — the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program — will be willing to buy some of the troublee commercial loans, and how much it woulde be willing to pay.
“Until there becomes more clarity on what TARPwill be, I don’t think you’ll see a lot of tradinvg volume,” said Ballard. Jeffrey Eliason of said a client looke d at selling debt on a parcek in Silicon Valley but that the bids came in at 65 percen to 70 percent ofthe note. “They think the land is worth twice as much asthe note, so they are goinhg to keep it,” he said. “Everybodyh wants to buy distressed debt, but we have not heard of anyon reallybuying it.
”